Rival Palestine factions Fatah and Hamas have agreed to hold general elections by the end of next year, according to a joint statement issued on Wednesday. The decision comes following two days of talks in Cairo between representatives of the two sides. However, the parties have left to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to choose the exact date of the elections. According to the previous Fatah-Hamas Gaza Agreement signed in 2014, general elections were scheduled to be held between April and October 2014, but were delayed indefinitely due to a rift between the two sides.
In October however, Fatah and Hamas have signed a reconciliatory agreement to end their decade-long conflict which resulted in separate governing of two Palestine territories, West Bank and Gaza. The agreement envisions that legislative, presidential and national council elections should be conducted within one year after its signing. It also intends to regulate security, administrative and border crossing issues in the Gaza strip, which has been governed separately by Hamas since the party clashed with Fatah in 2007.
